


We Have a Situation - Code Pink

by soniabigcheese



Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-06
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2019-02-28 22:31:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13281195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soniabigcheese/pseuds/soniabigcheese
Summary: A companion piece to Little Quirks and Etiquettes





	We Have a Situation - Code Pink

Alan leafed lazily through the algorithms and yawned, obviously bored out of his mind. Everyone else was busy with one really dangerous rescue that didn’t need any of his skills, so he was stuck at home. Even John, who tended to oversee Alan’s studies and homework, was supervising, coordinating and advising the rest of the team.

He let out a bored breath and sighed heavily. Just then, a hologram of Lady Penelope appeared. She looked quite vexed.

“International Rescue,” she intoned in her prim little voice, “we have a situation. It is a Code Pink. I repeat … it is a Code Pink.”

“Hey Lady P,” Alan instantly brightened up at the thoughts of doing something useful today … make that … ANYTHING useful, “what’s up?”

“Ah, just the person,” she replied …. “I need your assistance. Are you sure you are up to the task?”

Alan snorted and waved his hand dismissively.

“Pfft, if I can manage to drag a live mine through space and save my brother from certain death from a maniacal AI unit - no offense EoS….”

‘None taken Alan.’

He knew she was listening in … she was ALWAYS listening in. It was weird to begin with, but they’d gotten used to it now. 

“… I can take on anything. You name it … I can do it!”

He stood up and straightened his tee shirt with a confident grin, followed by a salute. Penny didn’t look too impressed.

“Are you absolutely sure about that?” she asked, “It IS a big task.”

And that’s when Alan got a little defensive. It wasn’t his fault he was always left out of the more dangerous rescues. Just because he was the youngest …. he scowled and folded his arms.

“Are you saying I’m too young for this job?”  
“I did not.”  
“Well, I can certainly do it. Yeah?”

She sighed resignedly, rolling her eyes a little.

“Fair enough. get yourself ready.”  
“Do I need Thunderbird Three?” He was practically bouncing with anticipation, “since all the rest are out somewhere in the Atlantic on a rescue.”

“No, Parker is bringing around FAB1.”  
“Cool!”

She still wasn’t convinced. Neither was EoS … who took it upon herself to butt in.

‘Alan, you do know what a Code Pink is?’  
“Sure I do. It’s shopping … right?”  
‘Uh, no … not exactly.’

He paused and turned to the hologram of Lady Penelope.

“Lady P? What exactly IS a Code Pink?”

Ah, now we’re getting somewhere. She smiled a little - well … it was more of a grimace than a smile.

“Great Aunt Sylvia.”  
“Oh cool! She’s a classy lady.”

Not according to Penny’s own personal experiences, she wasn’t. She was a nosy gossiping old bat, who loved intrigue and mysteries. She was exceptionally clever at getting information out of practically anybody. And her latest target … was little Alan Tracy.

She’d been so impressed at his valiant attempts at rescuing her and her great niece from those inept burglars, that she’d invited him to afternoon tea … as a thank you.

And that triggered all kinds of alarms with Lady Penelope, as Sylvia just doesn’t invite ANYONE to her little clique. There just HAD to be an ulterior motive in there. And Penny was fairly certain she knew what that motive was …

.. she and Alan had better be on their toes. For this ‘batty’ old lady, was extremely sharp-minded - when she wanted to be. Eccentric to the core and her past history was rather shady, and almost never spoken about within the family. 

A pink triangular blip appeared on the central hologram unit.

“FAB1 ‘as h’arrived,” Parker’s rather nasal voice butted in, “time to go for tea, me lad.”

Alan didn’t have much time to change, instead, he grabbed a jacket from Gordon’s room as he rushed past and slung it on. Quickly checking his hair in the mirror - those stubborn curls just wouldn’t settle down, sticking up at all angles - he made his way to Thunderbird Two’s runway, where a bright pink Rolls Royce was waiting, the driver was standing with the door open.

“‘ello Master h’Alan, fancy meetin’ you ‘ere.”

Alan practically skipped along the flat concrete surface, a big grin spread all over his face.

“Hey there Parker,” he greeted the chauffeur with a cheery wink, “mind if I drive?”

Parker looked positively affronted at the whole idea of someone else driving his beautiful car and shifted himself in front of one of the driver’s doors.

“Not bloody likely me lad,” he huffed, “today, you’re travelling h’in style.”

Alan poked his head into the back seat and frowned.

“Where’s Lady P?”  
“She’ll be meetin’ you h’at the Ritz.”

Parker paused, raking a critical eye over Alan’s idea of dressing up.

“What?”  
“You’re not going h’in there like that?”  
“Sure I am. Why?”  
“H’it’s a posh suit h’and tie h’affair. H’as soon h’as they see you, you won’t be let h’in through the front door.”  
“But … I’m with Lady Penelope. Surely she’s got some influence? Some clout …. some sway?”  
“H’I’m h’afraid not, not h’in this h’establishment.”

Alan looked positively crestfallen and pooched his bottom lip out. But Parker wasn’t having it. Instead, he reached in and pulled out a plastic covered outfit. By the looks of it, it was a handmade suit.

“So … M’lady ‘ad this h’ordered for you. H’as she doesn’t ‘ave your size, h’it was sheer guesswork. But by the looks of things … h’it might just fit. Now ‘urry h’along, we ‘aven’t got all day. You can get dressed while we’re travelling. H’it might be a bit h’of a tight fit, but you’re a tiny lad, h’I’m sure you can manage. H’and h’if you struggle wiv the tie, I ‘ave a clip h’on somewhere h’in me pockets. You can use that one.”

Alan grimaced at the thoughts of wearing a suit, but … since he was going to be in the company of not one but two lovely ladies … he felt obliged to put it on. Thankfully, FAB 1, like most luxury cars, had a privacy wall that Parker put up to allow Alan to get ready. 

During the journey, Parker could hear a lot of grunting and felt the back of his seat being thumped a few times as Alan tried his hardest to get into this fancy suit.

“Parker?”  
“Yus? Master H’Alan?”  
“How does Lady Penelope manage to get dressed in here? It’s really quite a squeeze.”

Parker just smiled, there was no way he was going to spill about M’lady’s antics. Instead, he simply replied with ….

“Oh, M’lady h’always gets dressed h’at ‘ome.”

After a lot of struggling (and a couple of bumps to the head and elbows) - it had been pretty cramped in there - he managed to get into the suit, and was sitting there, attempting to knot the tie. Eventually he managed, it was a large, messy knot that was slightly skew whiff. But at least he’d done it… all on his own!

The journey was uneventful, with the exception of Alan constantly chirping in the back seat and bugging Parker to turn on the radio. And Parker continually saying no. They finally arrived, and Alan’s chest swelled at seeing Lady Penelope and her aunt standing there waiting for them. 

During the drive, Parker had debriefed the youngest Tracy on etiquette and how to meet and greet people the ‘British way’. As he stepped forward, Penny intervened, straightening his tie with a 'please be careful’ look, before stepping aside. 

“Mrs Creighton Ward,” Alan stuck his hand out, accompanied by a beaming smile, “may I?" 

Sylvia glanced sideways at her great niece, before hooking her arm around Alan’s elbow, bending his arm slightly and patting his hand. 

"But … of course,” she responded smoothly, “Mr … Tracy." 

Alan flushed brightly and stepped forward. He felt his cheeks turning pink as Penelope linked his other arm.

“Fancy that!” he exclaimed as they passed through the doors, “I’ve managed to snag TWO ladies at the same time. In your face Scott!!”

He felt a sharp tug and turned to look at Penny. Her stern face was enough to shut him up. And he muttered a swift, almost inaudible ‘sorry’ before moving to one of the tables.

The place was alive with the sounds of murmuring voices and laughter, the chandeliers - he noticed - cast a lovely soft light over the whole place.

“WOW, this place looks fancy. Bet Grandma would love it here.”

Penny smiled.

“Actually, she did … once … with your brother Virgil. Not so long back.”  
“Oh, you mean the Luddite incident with … “ he lowered his voice, “… you know who.”

Sylvia, sharp-eared as usual, cottoned on to their conversation and as she lowered herself onto one of the velvet covered chairs, she glanced at both of them.

“You mean the Hood fellow?” she piped up loudly.

Penny gasped, looking horrified.

“Oh, there’s no need to whisper …” Sylvia continued, “… that blackguard is a bloody nuisance and should be locked up for his petty crimes.”

“Great aunt Sylvia …” Penny looked horrified, “language … please.”

Her eyes darted around the packed room, hoping that nobody had heard. Sylvia dropped her small handbag on the table and turned to her great niece.

“You know, sometimes I wonder about you my dear.”  
“But papa always told me off for swearing. He said it wasn’t ‘ladylike’.”  
“Oh, drop the act my dear, we all know you can come up with some really good curse words. Trust me … I’ve heard them all.”

This wasn’t going the way Penelope had planned. And to make matters worse, she had young Alan here, listening in on their private lives … and Sylvia was actively encouraging it! 

She narrowed her eyes at her great Aunt as a warning, but it fell on deaf ears as Sylvia carried on regardless. Bringing up past embarrassing episodes that revolved around Lady Penelope.

Thankfully the waiter turned up to take their order. Penny insisted on pots of tea and cringed when her aunt ordered a gin and tonic, throwing a challenging glare at her niece. Alan sheepishly asked for a soda, expecting them to say they were sorry but they only served tea. But was delighted when a tall glass of cola complete with ice and a straw, arrived at their table.

His eyes nearly popped out of his head as a couple of stacked tray of cakes and sandwiches were placed on the table. He’d never seen such a spread and he could feel his mouth watering at the tiny little confections and fondants.

He was hungry and almost … almost grabbed a few cakes with the intention of cramming them into his mouth. But stopped himself. After all, he was in posh company and it wouldn’t do to be rude and uncouth. He glanced at both of them, waiting for their signal.

Penny inclined her head - well at least if he was eating, he couldn’t say anything - and sneaked a glance at her aunt, who was watching Alan shrewdly over her glass.

“So …” she began, after taking a sip, “what line of work do you do?”

Penny went pale and widened her eyes in alarm, trying to get Alan’s attention. He was too busy picking out the thin slices of cucumber from the sandwiches and grimacing at the same time. 

With the exception of Grandma’s cookies, cucumber slices were at the top of Alan’s least favourite foods.

“Eh?”  
“Are you … in the ‘business’?”  
“Uh … yeah … I suppose I am.”

He looked baffled at her question, Penny coughed. Sylvia leaned forward, placing her elbows on the table, and cupping her chin in her hands … obviously quite interested.

“So … how do you know my niece? Hm?”

He looked at Penelope for answers. She had none and just shrugged, shaking her head.

“Um.”  
“Obviously you’re far too young … and a little rough around the edges to be hanging around with the aristocracy. Perhaps the son or grandson of a gardener? Although I haven’t seen anyone like you lurking around the grounds whenever I visit. And I make sure that I am familiar with every one of my staff.”

There was an uncomfortable silence when suddenly Penny’s comm-pact buzzed. Sylvia frowned, Alan perked up. Penny pretended to roll her eyes, but was really glad of the interruption.

“Please excuse me,” she said before standing up, “I need to take this.”

That left Sylvia and Alan alone at the table. He flashed a quick, nervous smile at her as she studied him carefully.

“Hmm… Tracy,” she mused, “you don’t happen to be one of those Tracy boys … are you?”

Alan scratched the back of his neck and the collar suddenly felt really tight.

“Is it getting warm in here?” he said nervously, trying to detract from the topic.  
“I knew it,” Sylvia exclaimed, partially rising from her seat, just in time for Penny to reappear and grab Alan.

“Sorry, have to go, we have an emergency.”  
“Nice meeting you Mrs Creighton-Ward.”

Alan allowed himself to be dragged out of the tea rooms and into the cool evening air. FAB 1 was standing there waiting.

“Gee … thanks Lady P,” Alan breathed a huge sigh of relief and loosened his collar and tie.

“No … came the reply, “ … thank Parker.”  
“Parker?”

He glanced at the elderly chauffeur, who tipped his hat and winked.

“There was no emergency. I gave him the signal to get us out of there when things got a little dicey.”

Alan could only nod in agreement.

“Yeah,” he replied with a small grin, “she’s something.”  
“She certainly is.”  
“In fact, I’d like to meet up with her again.”  
“Please don’t.”  
“She’s a riot.”

Penny could only let out an aggravated sigh and as she got into the car, all she could say was …

Teenagers … who’d have them?


End file.
